Columns
Hello, My Name Is Richard
Hello, My Name Is Richard Q&A With WXRT’s Richard Milne IE: Have holiday submissions to “Local Anesthetic” started coming in yet? Richard Milne: I’ve gotten e-mails from people asking clarification on what I’m expecting or telling me that it’s done or close. They just need to remix a vocal. I know people who’ve encouragingly started […]
File: December 2007
Britney…Britney…Britney… It must take effort to convince a county court that putting two children in the custody of Kevin “Popo Zao” Federline is a wise decision. But that Britney Spears is on a run of hijinks that’s making Scooby-Doo cringe. To recap, one of eight drug tests she actually made it to (she has allegedly […]
DVD Zone: December 2007
Help! Capitol/Apple After the success of A Hard Day’s Night, it would have been easy for The Beatles to try to recreate the faux documentary style that made that film such a delight. Instead, for their second foray into the big-screen world they went a totally different direction. While it isn’t the grand slam that […]
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]
Around Hear Page 2
Forty Piece Choir‘s swan-song, The Profound Nature Of Life, offers little insight into the veteran Americana act’s recent breakup. Instead of a funeral march (or wispy, introspective folk), their fourth full-length is a celebration of boogie-woogie horns, jubilant electric piano, and an almost Born To Run level of uplifting vocal urgency. FPC have hit their […]
Around Hear Page 3
In a world of cutthroat musicians with six-page press kits, Mitch And The Polecats are refreshingly modest. “I hope U enjoy it,” writes harmonicist/vocalist Mitch Mathena on his band’s perfectly shabby one-sheet. Get Naked is so casual it negates the need for introduction, focusing instead on immediate, easygoing love songs (well, lust songs) and smooth, […]
Ho, Ho, Headbang
For two months now I’ve stashed away Rhino’s The Heavy Metal Box and Megadeth‘s Warchest just so I could reveal all the glorious details in December and make this month’s column a sort of “Headbanger’s Gift Guide.” Cheesy, I know. But I’m only trying to spread a little holiday cheer to all you godless heathens. […]
Tune In
GIBSON Les Paul Robot Guitar A friend once told me he couldn’t attend shows at a certain Chicago venue because the bands that generally played there “couldn’t tune their damn guitars.” The Gibson Les Paul Robot could change that.
Don’t Look Back
Chicago radio was like a revolving door in 2007 – even at the left side of the dial. Last summer, Loyola University opted out of its contract with Chicago Public Radio, which had been running the college’s WLUW-FM (88.7) since 2002. Under the leadership of program director Shawn Campbell, WLUW had just become financially self-sufficient, […]
Studio Happenings
Backyard finished their second CD, American Dream, which was recorded at WULI RECORDS in Chicago. The band shoot a video for the song “Mercy” December 15th at Little Big Horn in Mundelein. Bible Of The Devil entered SEMAPHORE RECORDING STUDIO in Chicago and began recording the follow-up to 2006’s The Diabolic Procession with producer Sanford […]
The Good Doctor
“Son Seals was a man that everybody loved. I loved him, speaking for myself. And everybody that I know, you know, like the other entertainers and things, if they mentioned Son Seals, it was always something good they had to say.” – Koko Taylor
Hello, My Name Is Sammy
Hello, My Name Is Sammy Q&A With Sammy Hagar IE: What were some of the highlights from your 60th birthday celebration? Sammy Hagar: The highlights were two things: 1) They had huge surprises for me, I mean everyone kept calling me or leaving me messages or e-mailing me saying ‘Hey, we can’t make it. Tell […]
File: November 2007
Planet Neilsen Cheap Trickster Rick Nielsen has a bunch of guitars, and apparently he’s out of room for them in his house. According to Rockford’s WREX-TV, the pick-flipping guitarist and his business partner, Brent Johnson, want to build a rock ‘n’ roll hotel/restaurant/museum called (cleverly) Rick’s in Rockford. Besides the massive collection of one-of-a-kind axes […]
DVD Zone: November 2007
Grindhouse Presents: Planet Terror Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof Dimension B-movies have been around practically as long as the film industry itself. Originally, the studios would knock off a feature with second-tier actors to toss on the bill at drive-in theaters, often using the same sets as other films to keep the budget to a minimum.
Local CD Reviews
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. […]










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